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Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

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Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#201

Post by jgwil2 »

rejectedandsad wrote: post #166
Arainach wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When someone joins Google or Microsoft or Facebook, they say "I joined Google/Microsoft/Facebook". When they join Amazon, they say "I joined a FAANG company". It's amazingly how well it correlates.

Do you think that’s because Amazon is a lesser company? I work at Amazon and I’m depressed as hell because of it - not because the work is bad, but because you people think people like me are subhuman. I’ve studied leetcode for years but apparently my IQ is just too low to get into a better company - what should I do? Is my career over, or should I just accept being considered a subhuman for the rest of my life?

No one considers Amazon engineers "subhuman" - if that is your perception then all I can say is I think you need to seek therapy for your depression because no one should have to feel like that.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#202

Post by qweqwweqwe-90i »

Arainach wrote: post #174
rejectedandsad wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that’s because Amazon is a lesser company? I work at Amazon and I’m depressed as hell because of it - not because the work is bad, but because you people think people like me are subhuman. I’ve studied leetcode for years but apparently my IQ is just too low to get into a better company - what should I do? Is my career over, or should I just accept being considered a subhuman for the rest of my life?

I don't work at Amazon and never have, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. I have worked at multiple other "FAANG"-caliber organizations, so add a few more grains. Let's start with the obvious: "FAANG" was a term coined by financial types, not technical types, based on stock valuations rather than any particular technical merits. Exactly what companies are in it are controversial - Microsoft has the pedigree an…

rejectedandsad is a obviously a troll

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#203

Post by throwaway4220 »

dcolkitt wrote: post #196
xeromal wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IQ is kind of a weird metric to measure people by. Do they get their shit done?

IQ is literally the strongest predictor of job performance across every category. Even stronger than years of experience in the job. This result has been replicated by industrial psychology resource again and again over decades. I get that it’s kinda rude to bluntly talk about IQ, but without a doubt intelligent colleagues make for a more effective work environment.

IQ and intelligence are related but not equal. If work performance ~ intelligence ~ IQ, I don’t think it’s fair to say literally

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#204

Post by rejectedandsad »

qweqwweqwe-90i wrote: post #202
Arainach wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't work at Amazon and never have, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. I have worked at multiple other "FAANG"-caliber organizations, so add a few more grains. Let's start with the obvious: "FAANG" was a term coined by financial types, not technical types, based on stock valuations rather than any particular technical merits. Exactly what companies are in it are controversial - Microsoft has the pedigree an…

rejectedandsad is a obviously a troll

I'm absolutely not. How is this your interpretation? I have nothing.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#205

Post by rejectedandsad »

jgwil2 wrote: post #201
rejectedandsad wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that’s because Amazon is a lesser company? I work at Amazon and I’m depressed as hell because of it - not because the work is bad, but because you people think people like me are subhuman. I’ve studied leetcode for years but apparently my IQ is just too low to get into a better company - what should I do? Is my career over, or should I just accept being considered a subhuman for the rest of my life?

No one considers Amazon engineers "subhuman" - if that is your perception then all I can say is I think you need to seek therapy for your depression because no one should have to feel like that.

We clearly are - we didn't go to the Olympics, don't have free massages at work or even free first class travel to Hawaii like Googlers do - no unlimited external validation, etc and I make as much as a new grad at other companies. I have literally nothing to show for my hard work. Nothing.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#206

Post by shostack »

SCdF wrote: post #39

> below-average IQ people. .. > Any advice is appreciated. Not shitting on your colleagues with this generation's phrenology would be a great start. More generally, it sounds like you are starting with the idea that you're better and smarter than everyone you work with and only you can see the problems, as opposed to everyone you work with being (by and large) decent and hard working people who are making the best of…

This.

Wonder what this person's teammates might have to say about them?

"They just started and think they have all the answers without even considering there might be complex and higher-level reasons why a decision was made."

"This supposedly smart person joined our team and does not respect the strengths our diverse experiences and skills bring to make the sum of the team greater than it's parts."

"This person is a condescending jerk who treats everyone who disagrees with anything they say as inferior to them."

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#207

Post by telotortium »

ripper1138 wrote: post #140
jnwatson wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just got 4 offers from 3 FAANG companies, and I agree completely. None of the interviews had any filter for finishing tasks on time, writing good tests, improving team cohesion, or any of the many important characteristics of a great software developer. But, gosh, I can definitely explain how Aho-Corasick works.

IMO a huge missing piece is references. That part isn’t a new idea, it’s been part of hiring forever. A good reference from a past manager would mean a lot more to me than a 60 min coding challenge from leet code.

Who is going to be able to get a reference from anyone at their current workplace? You generally don't tell your manager you're interviewing before you have an offer in hand.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#208

Post by jgwil2 »

rejectedandsad wrote: post #205
jgwil2 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one considers Amazon engineers "subhuman" - if that is your perception then all I can say is I think you need to seek therapy for your depression because no one should have to feel like that.

We clearly are - we didn't go to the Olympics, don't have free massages at work or even free first class travel to Hawaii like Googlers do - no unlimited external validation, etc and I make as much as a new grad at other companies. I have literally nothing to show for my hard work. Nothing.

This reads like satire, but on the off-chance you're serious, you need to reframe your perspective. Consider the lives of Amazon warehouse workers, to take the most obvious example. Maybe therapy can help with this.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#209

Post by alecbz »

dcolkitt wrote: post #196
xeromal wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IQ is kind of a weird metric to measure people by. Do they get their shit done?

IQ is literally the strongest predictor of job performance across every category. Even stronger than years of experience in the job. This result has been replicated by industrial psychology resource again and again over decades. I get that it’s kinda rude to bluntly talk about IQ, but without a doubt intelligent colleagues make for a more effective work environment.

You can just directly observe how productive your teammates are, why bother using IQ as a proxy.

And it's not like OP gave his co-workers IQ tests.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#210

Post by alecbz »

Can you be more specific about the problems? This is some combination of:

* Different companies do things differently and you should have some humility about the way things are done here

* There's definitely a lot of cruft that can accumulate at larger companies, but the question is how much is it stopping you from being productive and getting the work done

* There's definitely shit teams at FAANGs, and by definition you're more likely to land at one coming in because of the turnover

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